title: Do Japanese style acupuncture and moxibustion reduce symptoms of the common cold?
abstract: We summarize the results from a series of investigations of Japanese style acupuncture and moxibustion therapies on symptoms of the common cold that have been conducted (FTLE 1999-03, supported by the Foundation for Training and Licensure Examination in Anma- Massage- Acupressure, Acupuncture and Moxibustion). We also discuss the various interventions and concerns that we faced during these investigations. The subjects were students and teachers. The pilot study (FTLE1999) of a two arm (real and non-treatment control) RCT at a Japanese acupuncture school showed that manual acupuncture to a specific needling point at the throat clearly reduced symptoms of the common cold. The first multi-center (five centers) RCT (FTLE 2000) revealed a significant reduction in cold symptoms, by general linear model analysis (between groups, P = 0.024). To reduce the technical variation, we employed indirect moxibustion to the neck points as a uniform intervention in the next project (FTLE 2001) without statistically significant results. Then we elongated the periods of treatment from 2 to a maximum of 12 weeks (FTLE 2002) with different interventions accompanied by 4 weeks follow-up. The results were still not statistically significant. As the final project, we tried to develop a new experimental design for individualized intervention by conducting n-of-1 trials using elderly subjects in a health care center but without detecting a clear effect. In conclusion, the safety of Japanese acupuncture or moxibustion was sufficiently demonstrated; however, a series of clinical trials could not offer convincing evidence to recommend the use of Japanese style acupuncture or moxibustion for preventing the common cold. Further studies are required as the present trials had several limitations.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of JSAM, Department of Physiology, Meiji University of Oriental Medicine, Hiyoshi-cho, Nantan-City, Kyoto 629-0392, Japan. Tel & Fax: +81-(0)771-72-1289; k_kawakita@meiji-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawakita
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shichidou
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nabeta
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitakoji
authors.forename: Shigekatsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aizawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Norihito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sumiya
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Umeda
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Shouhachi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanzawa